JP7728186B2 - Manufacturing line design device, manufacturing line design method, and computer program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a manufacturing line design device, a manufacturing line design method, and a computer program.

Technology for manufacturing products using a production line consisting of multiple processes is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The work organization device described in Patent Document 1 allocates workers, tasks to be performed by the workers, and the jigs, tools, and equipment required for the tasks to the production line. After allocation, the work organization device optimizes the production line by evaluating the depreciation costs of the jigs, tools, and equipment, and labor costs using an objective function.

The line production support system described in Patent Document 2 uses work information and information about work equipment to design a production line that can produce multiple types of workpieces within a certain period of time when a wide variety of products are manufactured on a single production line. Patent Document 2 also describes how, when there is a limit on the number of jigs available, the system organizes production units taking this limit into account, thereby reducing work losses associated with jig replacement.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-116507 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 05-257947

As noted in Patent Document 2, when there are limitations on the equipment, such as jigs, used to manufacture products, the production line must be designed with these limitations in mind. In this regard, the device described in Patent Document 1 designs the production line from the perspective of costs, such as depreciation and labor costs, and does not consider limitations on the number of pieces of equipment. If the limitations on the number of pieces of equipment are not taken into account, the work organization created will need to be reorganized if it exceeds the equipment limit. The system described in Patent Document 2 is based on the premise that products are manufactured on a single production line, and eliminates limitations on the number of pieces of equipment by replacing jigs, etc. Conversely, it does not consider line design when there are constraints, such as the number of pieces of equipment, on multiple production lines.

The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to reduce the time required to create a process schedule when manufacturing multiple products using multiple production lines.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems and can be realized in the following form: A manufacturing line design device for designing manufacturing lines for manufacturing multiple products using multiple manufacturing lines, the manufacturing line design device comprising: an information acquisition unit that acquires equipment information associating processes with the number of pieces of equipment available for each process, process information associating products with the processes required to manufacture each of the products, and the number of manufacturing lines required; and an allocation unit that allocates the products and the equipment to the manufacturing lines, the allocation unit sequentially allocating the equipment for each process to one of the manufacturing lines until one of the products can be manufactured, using the number of manufacturing lines and the number of pieces of equipment as constraints, and each time the allocation of equipment is completed, it allocates the products that can be manufactured on that manufacturing line and transitions processing to the next manufacturing line, repeating the allocation of equipment and the allocation of products until the acquired number of manufacturing lines is reached. The present invention can also be realized in the following form.

(1) One aspect of the present invention provides a manufacturing line design device that designs a product manufacturing line. The manufacturing line design device includes an information acquisition unit that acquires equipment information that associates processes with the number of pieces of equipment available for each process, process information that associates products with the processes required to manufacture each product, and the number of manufacturing lines required; and an allocation unit that allocates the products and the equipment to the manufacturing lines. The allocation unit allocates the equipment for each process on one manufacturing line using the number of manufacturing lines and the number of pieces of equipment as constraints. Each time the allocation of equipment is completed, it allocates the products that can be manufactured on that manufacturing line and transitions processing to the next manufacturing line. The allocation of equipment and the allocation of products are repeated until the acquired number of manufacturing lines is reached.

With this configuration, the allocation of equipment and products to each production line is repeated until the number of production lines is reached, with the number of production lines and the amount of equipment in stock as constraints. Therefore, the total amount of equipment equipped in each designed production line will not exceed the amount of equipment in stock. As a result, the created process schedule is a feasible schedule, eliminating the need for an unfeasible process schedule that does not allow for restrictions on the amount of equipment in stock, as was the case in the past. In other words, with this configuration, the calculation time for process schedules for production lines can be reduced, and the process schedule time can be sped up. As a result, the time required to create a process schedule can be reduced when multiple products are manufactured using multiple production lines.

(2) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, the allocation unit may create a table that associates each of the manufacturing lines with all of the processes, and use the table to allocate the equipment to each of the processes of the first manufacturing line in order until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured, and then transition the processing to the next manufacturing line. Using the table, the allocation unit may allocate the equipment to each of the processes of the second manufacturing line in order until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured, after subtracting the allocated number of the equipment allocated to the first manufacturing line from the owned number of the equipment.
According to this configuration, using a table associating production lines with all processes, equipment is sequentially assigned to the first production line until any product can be manufactured on the first production line. Then, equipment is sequentially assigned to the second production line until any product can be manufactured on the second production line. The upper limit of equipment that can be assigned to the second production line is the number of pieces of equipment assigned to the first production line minus the number of pieces of equipment in stock. In other words, equipment in excess of the number of pieces of equipment in stock is not assigned to the second production line. As a result, according to this configuration, the total number of pieces of equipment in each production line does not exceed the number of pieces of equipment in stock, enabling a feasible process organization. Furthermore, if even one product is available for production on the first production line, processing transitions to the second production line. This allows products to be gradually assigned to each production line, preventing a bias in product allocation to one production line.

(3) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, after the allocation for the second manufacturing line is completed, the allocation unit may refer to the process information, add the equipment that is not required for manufacturing the product that can be manufactured on the first line to the number of pieces of equipment in stock, transition the processing to the next manufacturing line, and use the table to allocate the equipment in order for each process of the third manufacturing line until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured by subtracting the number of pieces of equipment allocated to the second manufacturing line from the number of pieces of equipment in stock.
With this configuration, the upper limit of the number of pieces of equipment that can be assigned to the third production line is the total number of pieces of equipment owned plus the number of pieces of equipment not used to manufacture products manufactured on the first production line minus the number of pieces of equipment assigned to the second production line. In other words, it becomes possible to assign pieces of equipment not used on the first production line to the third production line. This increases the number of product options for the third production line, further speeding up the process scheduling time.

(4) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, the allocation unit may create a table that associates each of the manufacturing lines with all of the processes, and use the table to allocate the equipment to each of the processes of the first manufacturing line in order until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured, and then transition the processing to the next manufacturing line. Then, use the table to allocate the equipment to each of the processes of the second manufacturing line in order until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured, by subtracting the number of pieces of equipment allocated to the first manufacturing line from the number of pieces of equipment in possession and adding the pieces of equipment that are not required for manufacturing the products that can be manufactured on the first line to the number of pieces of equipment in possession.
With this configuration, the upper limit of the number of pieces of equipment that can be assigned to the second production line is the total number of pieces of equipment minus the number of pieces of equipment assigned to the first production line plus the number of pieces of equipment not used to manufacture products on the first production line. In other words, it is possible to assign pieces of equipment not used on the first production line to the second production line. This increases the number of products to be manufactured on the second production line, further speeding up the process scheduling time.

(5) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, after the allocation of the equipment and the allocation of the products to all of the manufacturing lines in the first round has been completed, if there are any unassigned products that need to be manufactured, the allocation unit may allocate the equipment for each process from the equipment that has not been assigned to the first manufacturing line, transition the processing to the next manufacturing line, and repeat the allocation of the equipment and the allocation of the products until the unassigned products are assigned to one of the manufacturing lines.
With this configuration, after the allocation of equipment and products to all production lines in the first cycle is completed, the unassigned products are allocated to production lines in the second cycle and beyond. This ensures that the production of products is always allocated to one of the processes. Furthermore, by allocating multiple types of products, it is possible to prevent the allocation of products from being biased toward one production line.

(6) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, when allocating the equipment and the products to m (m is a natural number) manufacturing lines, if the product that can be manufactured on the nth (n=1, 2, ..., m-1) manufacturing line is the same as the product that can be manufactured on the (n+1)th manufacturing line, the allocation unit may allocate the number of product types that can be manufactured on the nth manufacturing line divided by (m-(n-1)) to the nth manufacturing line.
With this configuration, if the product that can be manufactured on the nth production line and the product that can be manufactured on the (n+1)th production line are the same, not all of the products that can be manufactured are allocated to the nth production line to which the equipment and products were allocated first. Instead, the number of types of products calculated by dividing the number of the nth production line and the number of all production lines to which the equipment and products are allocated after the nth production line by (m-(n-1)) is allocated to the nth production line. Therefore, with this configuration, it is possible to further prevent the allocation of products from being biased toward one production line.

(7) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, the allocation unit allocates the equipment and the products when the number of each piece of equipment owned is less than the total number of the manufacturing lines, and does not need to allocate the equipment or the products when the number of each piece of equipment owned is equal to or greater than the total number of the manufacturing lines.
With this configuration, if the number of pieces of equipment owned is equal to or greater than the total number of manufacturing lines, there will be no shortage of equipment even if all the equipment is allocated to all manufacturing lines, so allocation of equipment and products is not performed. As a result, if there is a surplus in the number of pieces of equipment owned, there is no need to organize processes with unnecessary restrictions.

The present invention can be realized in various forms, such as a manufacturing line design device, a process orchestration device, a line manufacturing support system, a control method for these devices and systems, a computer program executed in these devices and systems, a server device for distributing this computer program, and a non-transitory storage medium on which the computer program is stored.

1 is a schematic block diagram of a line design device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a table showing process information and equipment information according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. 1 is a flowchart of a manufacturing line design method. 10 is a flowchart of a second rotation allocation process. 10 is a flowchart of a modified manufacturing line design method.

<Embodiment>
1 is a schematic block diagram of a line design device (production line design device) 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The line design device 100 of this embodiment designs multiple production lines that combine multiple processes. When designing the production lines, the line design device 100 designs the production lines using constraints such as the number of production lines required and the number of pieces of equipment required to perform the processes. As described below, the line design device 100 of this embodiment designs each line using constraints such as the number of pieces of equipment required, thereby reducing the time required to create a process organization.

The line design device 100 of this embodiment is a personal computer that processes various types of information. As shown in FIG. 1, the line design device 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10, a storage device 20, an input unit 30, an output unit 40, and a communication unit 50 that transmits and receives various types of information via wireless communication.

The input unit 30 has a keyboard and a mouse. Input information entered by the user via the input unit 30 is processed by the CPU 10. The output unit 40 has a monitor that displays images and a speaker that outputs audio. The output unit 40 displays images on the monitor and outputs audio from the speaker in accordance with output information from the CPU.

The storage device 20 is composed of a hard disk drive (HDD) and other components. The storage device 20 includes a process information database (process information DB) 21 that stores process information for each process, and an equipment information database (equipment information DB) 22 that stores equipment information regarding the number of pieces of equipment in possession. The process information is data that associates products with the processes required to manufacture each product. The equipment information is data that associates processes with the number of pieces of equipment in possession that can be used in each process.

Figure 2 is a list showing process information and equipment information in this embodiment. Figure 2 shows, as a table, the number of pieces of equipment owned for each process and the processes required to manufacture each product. In Figure 2, the information stored in "Process Name" and the information stored in "Number of Equipment Owned" correspond to equipment information. In Figure 2, the information stored in "Process Name" and the information stored in products 1 to x (x is any natural number; in the example of Figure 2, x = 18) correspond to process information. Note that the process information and equipment information may be stored in the same table as in Figure 2, or may be stored in separate tables linked using the process name as a key.

The number of owned equipment in the equipment information stores in advance the number of pieces of equipment that can be used for each corresponding process. For example, there is one piece of equipment to perform process 1, and similarly for processes 2 to 8, there is one piece of equipment each. There are four pieces of equipment to perform process 9, and ten pieces of equipment to perform process 10. In this way, the maximum number of pieces of equipment that can be used for each corresponding process is stored in the field of owned equipment in the equipment information.

For products 1-x in the process information, a circle is placed in the column corresponding to the process required to manufacture that product. For example, to manufacture product 1, processes 9-15, 17-18, and 20-26 must be included in one production line. To perform process 9, four pieces of equipment are required. Therefore, in this embodiment, process 9 is allocated to a maximum of four production lines.

The CPU 10 is connected to a ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory), not shown, and loads and executes computer programs stored in the ROM into the RAM. As shown in FIG. 1, the CPU 10 functions as an information acquisition unit 11 that acquires process information and equipment information, and an allocation unit 12 that allocates products and equipment to each production line.

In addition to process information and equipment information, the information acquisition unit 11 acquires the number of required production lines input via the input unit 30. The allocation unit 12 allocates equipment for each process on one production line, using the acquired number of lines and the number of pieces of equipment as constraints. Furthermore, each time the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment, it allocates products that can be manufactured on that production line. Similarly, after allocating products on one production line, the allocation unit 12 transitions processing to the next production line, and repeats the allocation of equipment and products until the acquired number of production lines is reached.

Figures 3 to 10 are explanatory diagrams of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit 12. Each of Figures 3 to 10 shows a table created by the allocation unit 12 that associates each production line with all processes. Specifically, in addition to the process information and equipment information shown in Figure 2, Figure 3 shows the required production lines, lines 1 to 5, and an equipment pool as a table. The equipment pool is an area used to calculate the number of owned equipment in the equipment allocation process, and functions as the "number of owned equipment." The equipment pool shows the number of pieces of equipment remaining after subtracting the equipment allocated to each production line from the number of owned equipment.

In this embodiment, the allocation unit 12 determines whether the number of pieces of equipment required to perform each process is equal to or greater than the number of pieces of equipment that would be required if the equipment were allocated to all of lines 1 to 5. If the number of pieces of equipment required is equal to or greater than the number of production lines, i.e., if the same equipment can be allocated to all lines, the allocation unit 12 of this embodiment does not allocate equipment and products. If the number of pieces of equipment required is less than the number of production lines, the allocation unit 12 selects one production line (e.g., line 1) to which to allocate the equipment. Using the table shown in FIG. 3, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment to each process on the selected line 1 in order until one of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured. In this embodiment, when the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment for processes 1 to 24 to line 1, product 11 can be manufactured on line 1.

Figure 4 shows a table in which equipment has been allocated to Line 2 after it has been allocated to Line 1. After allocating equipment to Line 1, the allocation unit 12 transitions processing to the next production line, Line 2. Using the table shown in Figure 3, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment to each process on Line 2 in order from the number of pieces of equipment in the equipment pool until one of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured. The number shown in the equipment pool in Figure 3 is the number of pieces of equipment owned minus the number of pieces of equipment allocated to Line 1.

In the equipment pool shown in Figure 3, the number of pieces of equipment for processes 1 to 8 and 16 is zero. Therefore, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment with inventory in the equipment pool to line 2, starting with process 9. As shown in Figure 4, when the allocation unit 12 allocates the equipment for processes 9 to 15 and 17 to 25 to line 2, products 1 to 10 and products 16 to 18 become manufacturable on line 2. Product 11, which can be manufactured on line 1, is different from products 1 to 10 and 16 to 18, which can be manufactured on line 2. Therefore, the allocation unit 12 determines product 11 as the product to be manufactured on line 1.

After completing the allocation for line 2, the allocation unit 12 references the process information shown in Figure 3 and returns to the equipment pool any equipment that is no longer needed to manufacture the products that can now be manufactured on line 1. This increases the amount of equipment available for allocation to line 3, which is allocated after line 2. Specifically, the allocation unit 12 returns to the equipment pool the equipment for performing processes 4, 5, 8, 9, 12-14, 16, 18, and 21, and the amount of equipment available for allocation to subsequent lines becomes the number in the equipment pool shown in Figure 4.

Figure 5 shows a table in which equipment has been allocated to Line 3 after being allocated to Line 2. The allocation unit 12 returns unnecessary equipment from Line 1 to the equipment pool and then transitions processing to the next production line, Line 3. Using the table shown in Figure 4, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment from the inventory in the equipment pool in order to each process on Line 3 until one of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured. The amount of inventory in the equipment pool is the number of equipment owned minus the number of pieces of equipment allocated to Line 1 and Line 2 at the current time.

In the equipment pool shown in Figure 4, there is no equipment for processes 1 to 3, 6, 7, and 19. Therefore, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment with inventory in the equipment pool to line 3, starting with process 4. As shown in Figure 5, when the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment for processes 4, 5, 8 to 18, and 20 to 26 to line 3, products 1 to 10 can be manufactured on line 3.

Products 1-10 and 16-18 that can be manufactured on line 2 partially overlap with products 1-10 that can be manufactured on line 3. Therefore, the allocator 12 selects non-overlapping products 16-18 as the products to be manufactured on line 2. The allocator 12 then returns the equipment used in allocated processes 9, 13, and 18 that is not used for products 16-18 manufactured on line 2 to the equipment pool.

Figure 6 shows a table in which equipment has been allocated to Line 4 after the allocation of equipment to Line 3. After returning unnecessary equipment from Line 2 to the equipment pool, the allocation unit 12 transitions processing to the next production line, Line 4. Using the table shown in Figure 5, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment from the inventory in the equipment pool to each process on Line 4 in order until one of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured. In the equipment pool shown in Figure 5, there is no equipment for processes 1 to 8, 16, and 19. Therefore, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment that is in inventory in the equipment pool to Line 4, starting with Process 9. As shown in Figure 6, when the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment for processes 4, 5, 9 to 18, and 20 to 26 to Line 4, products 1 to 10 can be manufactured on Line 4.

Products 1-10 that can be manufactured on line 3 are the same as products 1-10 that can be manufactured on line 4. In this case, the allocation unit 12 allocates to line 3 the number of products that can be manufactured (10 types) by dividing the total number of production lines (5) by 3, which is calculated by subtracting the total number of lines 1 and 2 to which equipment has already been assigned (2). Since 10 types divided by 3 is 3.33..., the allocation unit 12 allocates the production of three or four types of products to line 3. In this embodiment, the allocation unit 12 allocates three products 1-3 as products to be manufactured on line 3. The allocation unit 12 then returns the equipment used in assigned processes 4, 5, 8, and 16 that is not used for products 1-3 manufactured on line 3 to the equipment pool.

Figure 7 shows a table in which equipment has been assigned to Line 5 after the equipment has been assigned to Line 4. After returning unnecessary equipment from Line 3 to the equipment pool, the assignment unit 12 transitions processing to the next production line, Line 5. Using the table shown in Figure 6, the assignment unit 12 assigns equipment from the inventory in the equipment pool to each process on Line 5 in order until one of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured. In the equipment pool shown in Figure 6, there is no equipment for processes 1 to 7, 16, and 19. Therefore, the assignment unit 12 assigns equipment that is in inventory in the equipment pool to Line 5, starting with Process 8. As shown in Figure 7, when the assignment unit 12 assigns equipment for Processes 4, 5, 8 to 18, and 20 to 26 to Line 4, products 4 to 10, which have not yet been assigned a production line, can be manufactured on Line 5.

Products 4-10 that can be manufactured on line 4 are the same as products 4-10 that can be manufactured on line 5. Therefore, the allocation unit 12 allocates the number of products to line 4 by dividing the number of product types that can be manufactured (7) by the total number of production lines (5) minus the total number of lines 1-3 to which equipment has already been assigned (3). Since 7 types divided by 3 is 3.5, the allocation unit 12 allocates the three products 4-6 as products to be manufactured on line 4. Furthermore, since there is no line other than line 5 that has not been selected, the allocation unit 12 determines that the remaining products 7-10 will be manufactured on line 5. The allocation unit 12 then returns the equipment used in assigned processes 4, 5, and 16 that is not used to manufacture products 4-6 on line 4 to the equipment pool.

Figure 8 shows a table in which equipment not used to manufacture products 7-10, manufactured on line 5, has been returned to the equipment pool. Even if equipment is assigned to all lines 1-5, products 12-15 are not being manufactured on any of the production lines. In other words, after the first round of equipment and product assignments to all production lines are completed, there are still unassigned products that must be manufactured. In this case, the assignment unit 12 assigns all products to a production line by repeating a process different from the first round of equipment and product assignments to production lines from the second round onwards, until the unassigned products are assigned to a production line.

Figure 9 shows a table in which equipment is assigned to Line 1 during the second round of equipment assignment. The assignment unit 12 selects one line, Line 1. The assignment unit 12 assigns equipment until one of products 12 to 15, other than product 11, which has already been decided to be manufactured on Line 1, becomes available for production. The assignment unit 12 assigns equipment that has inventory in the equipment pool shown in Figure 8, starting from process 4, which has zero assigned equipment. As shown in Figure 9, when equipment 4, 5, 8, 9, 13, 16, and 25 are assigned to Line 1, products 12 to 15 become available for production on Line 1. The assignment unit 12 assigns products 12 to 15 as products to be manufactured on Line 1.

Figure 10 shows a table in which unused equipment on Line 1 has been returned to the equipment pool after the products to be manufactured on Line 1 for the second cycle have been decided. The allocation unit 12 returns to the equipment pool the equipment used in process 9 that is unused for product 11 allocated to Line 1 for the first cycle and products 12-15 allocated to Line 1 for the second cycle.

Figure 11 is a flowchart of a manufacturing line design method. In the line design flow shown in Figure 11, first, the information acquisition unit 11 performs an information acquisition process to acquire equipment information, process information, and the number of required manufacturing lines (step S1). The allocation unit 12 uses the acquired equipment information to determine whether the number of required equipment units when all equipment is allocated to all lines 1 to 5 is greater than the number of owned equipment units (step S2). If the number of owned equipment units is equal to or less than the number of required equipment units (step S2: NO), the line design flow ends.

In the processing of step S2, if the number of required pieces of equipment when allocating equipment to all lines 1 to 5 is greater than the number of owned pieces of equipment (step S2, YES), the allocation unit 12 selects line 1 as a first production line (step S3). The allocation unit 12 allocates equipment and products to the selected line 1, using the number of production lines acquired by the information acquisition unit 11 and the number of owned pieces of equipment as constraints (step S4). As shown in FIG. 3, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment corresponding to each process one by one to line 1 until at least one product, product 11, can be manufactured. As a result, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment corresponding to processes 1 to 24 to line 1. The allocation unit 12 allocates products 11 to be manufactured using equipment corresponding to processes 1 to 24 to line 1.

The allocation unit 12 then transitions to line 2 as the second production line for which allocation processing will be performed (step S5). The allocation unit 12 allocates equipment to line 2 in the same way as allocating equipment to line 1, and allocates equipment and products to line 2 (step S6). As shown in FIG. 4, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment corresponding to each process one by one until at least one product can be manufactured on line 2. As a result, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment corresponding to processes 9 to 15 and 17 to 26 to line 2. The allocation unit 12 allocates products 1 to 10 and 16 to 18, which are manufactured using equipment corresponding to processes 9 to 15 and 17 to 26, to line 2.

The allocation unit 12 determines, among the products allocated to line 1 and the products allocated to line 2, product 11 that is allocated only to line 1 as the product to be manufactured on line 1 (step S7). Note that if the products allocated to line 1 and line 2 are the same, as explained using Figure 5, the allocation unit 12 calculates the number of product types to be allocated to that production line from the number of overlapping product types on different production lines, the number of production lines to which equipment and products have not yet been allocated, and the total number of production lines.

Once the product allocation for line 2 has been completed, the allocation unit 12 returns unused equipment allocated to line 1 that is not being used to manufacture product 11 to the equipment pool (step S8). The allocation unit 12 determines whether the allocation of equipment and products to all lines 1 to 5 has been completed (step S9). If there are still production lines or equipment and products not yet allocated (step S9: NO), the allocation unit 12 replaces line 2 as the second line with line 1 (step S10). After that, line 3 is transitioned to as the new second production line (step S5), and the processes from step S6 onwards are carried out. The processes from step S3 to step S10 correspond to the transfer process.

If, in the processing of step S9, equipment and products have been assigned to all of lines 1 to 5 (step S9: YES), the assignment unit 12 determines whether all products have been assigned to at least one of lines 1 to 5 (step S11). In other words, the assignment unit 12 determines whether the production of all products has been assigned to a production line. If all products are manufactured on lines 1 to 5 (step S11: YES), the line design flow ends.

If all products have not been manufactured (step S11: NO), the allocation unit 12 performs a second-round allocation process to allocate equipment and products for the second round and beyond. Figure 12 is a flowchart of the second-round allocation process. Figure 12 shows the flow that is performed when, even after the first round of equipment and product allocation to lines 1 to 5 has been completed, there are still products that have not been allocated to any of the production lines.

In the second round allocation flow shown in FIG. 12, the allocation unit 12 selects line 1 as the first production line (step S121). The allocation unit 12 allocates unallocated equipment and products to line 1 one by one in order until at least one product whose production has not been determined can be manufactured (step S122). As a result, in this embodiment, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment corresponding to processes 4, 5, 8, 9, 13, 16, and 25 to line 1, as shown in FIG. 9. The allocation unit 12 allocates products 12 to 15 to be manufactured using equipment corresponding to processes 1 to 11, 13, 15 to 17, 19, 20, and 22 to 25 to line 1. The allocation unit 12 determines the products 12 to 15 to be manufactured on line 1 (step S123). The allocator 12 returns unused equipment for process 9 that is not used to manufacture products 12-15, out of the equipment allocated to line 1, to the equipment pool (step S124). The allocator 12 determines whether all products have been allocated to any of lines 1-5 (step S125).

If there are any products remaining that have not yet been assigned (step S125: NO), the assignment unit 12 replaces line 2, the second production line, with the first production line (step S126). In step S126, a production line different from the production line to which equipment and products were previously assigned is selected in order to replace it. Then, step S122 and subsequent steps are performed on line 2, which serves as the new first production line. In step S125, if all products have been assigned to lines 1 to 5 (step S125: YES), the second round assignment flow ends. Note that the second round assignment flow shown in Figure 11 continues to assign products to lines 1 to 5 from the third round onwards until the products are assigned to a production line.

When the second round allocation process shown in Figure 11 is completed, the allocation unit 12 outputs an image to the monitor of the output unit 40 showing the relationship between the products manufactured on each production line and the equipment and products allocated to each production line.

As described above, in the line design device 100 of this embodiment, the information acquisition unit 11 acquires process information, equipment information, and the number of required production lines. The allocation unit 12 allocates equipment for each process of one production line, using the acquired number of lines and the number of owned equipment as constraints. Furthermore, each time the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment, it allocates products that can be manufactured on that production line. Similarly, after allocating products to one production line, the allocation unit 12 transitions processing to the next production line, repeating the allocation of equipment and product allocation until the acquired number of production lines is reached. In other words, in this embodiment, using the number of production lines and the number of owned equipment as constraints, the allocation of equipment and products to each production line is repeated until the number of production lines is reached. Therefore, the total number of pieces of equipment to be equipped by each designed production line does not exceed the number of owned equipment. Because the created process organization is a feasible organization, it is not necessary to create an unrealizable process organization that does not allow for restrictions on the number of pieces of equipment owned, as was the case in the past. In other words, with this configuration, the calculation time for process organization for a production line can be shortened, and the process organization time can be sped up. As a result, the line design device 100 of this embodiment can shorten the time required to create a process organization when multiple products are manufactured using multiple production lines.

In addition, the allocation unit 12 of this embodiment creates a table (e.g., Figure 3) that associates each production line with all processes. Using the table, the allocation unit 12 sequentially allocates equipment to each process of the selected line 1 until one of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured. After allocating equipment to line 1, the allocation unit 12 transitions processing to the next production line, line 2. Using the table, the allocation unit 12 sequentially allocates equipment from the number of pieces of equipment in the equipment pool to each process of line 2 until one of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured. The number shown in the equipment pool in Figure 3 is the number of pieces of equipment owned minus the number of pieces of equipment allocated to line 1. In this embodiment, the upper limit of equipment that can be allocated to line 2 is the number of pieces of equipment owned minus the number of pieces of equipment allocated to line 1, so that line 2 is never allocated more equipment than the number of pieces of equipment owned. As a result, the total number of pieces of equipment on each production line will not exceed the number of units in stock, and the line design device 100 of this embodiment can organize processes in a feasible manner. Furthermore, if there is even one product that can be produced on line 1, processing will transition to line 2. This allows products to be gradually distributed to each production line, preventing a bias in the distribution of products to any one production line.

In addition, after the allocation for Line 2 is complete, the allocation unit 12 of this embodiment references the process information and returns equipment that is no longer needed to manufacture products that can now be manufactured on Line 1 to the equipment pool. Using a table, the allocation unit 12 sequentially allocates equipment from the inventory in the equipment pool to each process on Line 3 until one of the products specified in the process information becomes manufacturable. The amount of inventory in the equipment pool is the number of owned equipment minus the number of pieces of equipment currently allocated to Line 1 and Line 2. In other words, equipment that is not used on Line 1 can be allocated to Line 3. This increases the number of products to be manufactured on Line 3, further speeding up the process organization time.

Furthermore, after the allocation of equipment and products to all production lines in the first cycle has been completed, there are still unassigned products that need to be manufactured. In this case, the allocation unit 12 repeats the allocation of equipment and products to production lines in the second cycle and beyond until the unassigned products are assigned to a production line. In this embodiment, after the allocation of equipment and products to all production lines in the first cycle has been completed, unassigned products are assigned to production lines in the second cycle and beyond. This ensures that the production of a product is assigned to one of the processes. Furthermore, by allocating multiple types of products, the line design device 100 can prevent products from being unevenly allocated to a single production line.

In addition, in this embodiment, products 1 to 10 that can be manufactured on line 3 are the same as products 1 to 10 that can be manufactured on line 4. In this case, the allocation unit 12 allocates to line 3 the number of products that can be manufactured (10 types) by dividing the total number of manufacturing lines (5) by 3, which is calculated by subtracting the total number of lines 1 and 2 to which equipment has already been assigned (2). Since 10 types divided by 3 is 3.33..., the allocation unit 12 allocates the production of three or four types of products to line 3. In other words, if the products that can be manufactured on the nth manufacturing line (n=3 in this embodiment) are the same as the products that can be manufactured on the (n+1)th manufacturing line, not all of the products that can be manufactured will be allocated to the nth manufacturing line, to which equipment and products were previously assigned. Instead, the number of types of products allocated to the nth production line is calculated by dividing the sum of the nth production line and the number m (in this embodiment, m = 5) of all production lines to which equipment and products are allocated after the nth production line by (m - (n - 1)). As a result, the line design device 100 can further prevent products from being allocated unevenly to one production line.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the number of pieces of equipment required is equal to or greater than the number of production lines, i.e., if the same equipment can be allocated to all lines, the allocation unit 12 of this embodiment does not allocate equipment and products. If the number of pieces of equipment owned is equal to or greater than the total number of production lines, there will be no shortage of equipment even if all equipment is allocated to all production lines. In this case, in this embodiment, allocation of equipment and products is not performed. As a result, if there is surplus equipment, there is no need to organize processes with unnecessary restrictions.

<Modification of the embodiment>
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention, including, for example, the following modifications: In the above-described embodiment, part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced by software, and conversely, part of the configuration realized by software may be replaced by hardware.

[Modification 1]
In the above embodiment, an example of a production line design device that designs a product production line has been described. However, the configuration of the line design device 100 and the control executed by the line design device 100 can be modified. For example, the line design device 100 may not include any or all of the storage device 20, the input unit 30, the output unit 40, and the communication unit 50. For example, if the line design device 100 does not include the storage device 20, the input unit 30, or the output unit 40, the information acquisition unit 11 may acquire process information, equipment information, and the number of production lines from another device via the communication unit 50. The process organization created by the line design device 100 does not need to be displayed on the monitor of the output unit 40, and may be transmitted as data to another device.

In the above embodiment, the allocator 12 sequentially allocated equipment to each production line one by one until one of the products could be manufactured. However, the allocation order and the number of pieces of equipment allocated can be varied as long as equipment is not allocated to all processes simultaneously. For example, the allocator 12 may allocate equipment two at a time, or the number of pieces of equipment allocated may be different between the allocation for the first week and the allocation for the second week and beyond. Also, in the above embodiment, the allocator 12 allocated equipment for each process to the production line in order of increasing process number, starting with process 1, which has the lowest process number, but allocation may be performed in a different manner. The allocator 12 may allocate equipment for line 1 in odd-numbered order, specifically, equipment corresponding to processes 1, 3, 5, ..., 2, 4, ..., in order, and may allocate equipment for line 2 in even-numbered order, specifically, equipment corresponding to processes 2, 4, 6, ..., 1, 3, ..., in order.

In the above embodiment, when the same products are assigned to line 3 and line 4, the allocation unit 12 adjusts the number of product types to be assigned to line 3, taking into account the number of production lines to which product allocation has not yet been completed. However, the method of allocating products can be modified. For example, when the same products are assigned to line 3 and line 4, the allocation unit 12 may allocate all of the products to line 3, and then allocate equipment to line 4 until one of the unassigned products can be manufactured.

In the second cycle allocation flow shown in FIG. 12, the allocation unit 12 sequentially allocates equipment to production lines until all unallocated products are allocated, but a different allocation method may be adopted. For example, even if all products can be allocated to one of the production lines by allocating products to line 1 in the second cycle allocation flow as in the above embodiment, the allocation unit 12 may allocate the same products allocated to lines 3 and 4 in the first cycle equally to each production line. Note that in the above embodiment, if the value obtained by dividing the number of product types that can be manufactured on the nth production line by (m-(n-1)) is not an integer, the two integers closest to the divided value are used; for example, if the value is 3.33, three or four types are the number of product types allocated to the nth production line.

In the above embodiment, an example was described in which different equipment was used to perform each process, but equipment may also be usable between processes. Specifically, for example, equipment for performing process 13 and equipment for performing process 15 may be usable. Furthermore, equipment usable for process 13 and process 15 may also be usable for the different process 16. Furthermore, there may be equipment that can be used for a combination of multiple processes. For example, equipment may be usable for process 13 and process 15, and different equipment may be usable for process 17 and process 20.

In the above embodiment, the allocation unit 12 performed the processing of step S2 in Figure 11, but it may also allocate equipment and products without making a judgment based on the number of owned pieces of equipment. Note that, while in the above embodiment, there was one piece of equipment for each process, there may be two or more pieces of equipment used to perform each process, or a combination of multiple types of equipment.

The table created by the allocator 12 in the above embodiment may be implemented in the form of a matrix or queue stored in memory. Alternatively, the allocator 12 may allocate equipment for each process in order according to a predetermined sequence, such as ascending order of process numbers, without using a table. In this case, the above embodiment can also be rephrased as follows:
A manufacturing line design device,
The allocating unit
In the first production line, the equipment is allocated in a predetermined order to all the processes that can be performed by the first production line until a condition for manufacturing any one of the products is met;
When the condition is met for the first manufacturing line, the equipment for the process is allocated in the predetermined order from the inventory obtained by subtracting the number of pieces of equipment allocated to the first manufacturing line from the number of pieces of equipment held, for all the processes that can be taken by the second manufacturing line that has transitioned to the next process, until the condition is met.

[Modification 2]
FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a modified manufacturing line design method. In the manufacturing line design flow shown in FIG. 13 , first, the information acquisition unit 11 performs an information acquisition process in which it acquires equipment information, process information, and the number of required manufacturing lines (step S21). The allocation unit 12 performs an allocation process in which it allocates equipment and products to each manufacturing line (step S22). In the allocation process, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment for each process to line 1, using the number of manufacturing lines and the number of pieces of equipment as constraints. Each time the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment, it allocates products that can be manufactured on line 1. The allocation unit 12 transitions the process to the next line 2, and repeats the allocation of equipment and products until all the numbers of manufacturing lines are reached, after which the manufacturing line design flow ends.

[Modification 3]
In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11 , after the equipment and products are allocated to line 2 (step S6) and the products to be manufactured on line 1 are determined (step S7), unused equipment on line 1 is returned to the equipment pool (step S8). However, the timing of returning unused equipment can be modified. For example, the allocation unit 12 may select line 1 (step S3), allocate equipment and products to line 1 (step S4), and then return unused equipment on line 1 to the equipment pool. In this modified example, equipment unused on line 1 can be allocated to line 2 for the second manufacturing line. This increases the number of product options to be manufactured on line 2, further speeding up the process scheduling time.

This aspect has been described above based on embodiments and variations, but the above-described embodiments are intended to facilitate understanding of this aspect and are not intended to limit this aspect. This aspect may be modified or improved without departing from its spirit or the scope of the claims, and equivalents are included in this aspect. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it may be deleted as appropriate.

10...CPU
11...Information acquisition unit 12...Distribution unit 20...Storage device 21...Process information DB
22...Equipment information DB
30...input section 40...output section 50...communication section 100...line design device

Claims (9)

1. A manufacturing line design device for designing a plurality of manufacturing lines for manufacturing a plurality of products, comprising:
An information acquisition unit,
Equipment information associating processes with the number of pieces of equipment available for each process;
process information that associates the products with the processes required to manufacture each of the products;
an information acquisition unit that acquires the number of required manufacturing lines;
an allocation unit that allocates the products and the equipment to the manufacturing line;
Equipped with
The allocating unit
Allocating the equipment for each process to one of the production lines in order until one of the products can be manufactured , with the number of the production lines and the number of the equipment held as constraints;
Each time the equipment is allocated, the products that can be manufactured on the production line are allocated;
The manufacturing line design device transitions the process to the next manufacturing line, and repeats the allocation of the equipment and the allocation of the products until the acquired number of manufacturing lines is reached. 2. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 1,
The allocating unit
A table is created in which each of the manufacturing lines is associated with all of the processes;
Using the table, the equipment is sequentially allocated to each of the processes of the first production line until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured;
a manufacturing line design device that transitions processing to the next manufacturing line, and allocates the equipment in order using the table until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured for each of the processes on the second manufacturing line, after subtracting the number of pieces of equipment allocated to the first manufacturing line from the number of pieces of equipment held. 3. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 2,
The allocating unit
After the allocation for the second production line is completed, referring to the process information, the equipment that is not required for the production of the product that can now be produced on the first production line is added to the number of the equipment in possession;
a manufacturing line design device that transitions processing to the next manufacturing line, and allocates the equipment in order using the table until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured for each of the processes on the third manufacturing line, after subtracting the number of pieces of equipment allocated to the second manufacturing line from the number of pieces of equipment held. 2. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 1,
The allocating unit
A table is created in which each of the manufacturing lines is associated with all of the processes;
Using the table, the equipment is sequentially allocated to each of the processes of the first production line until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured;
a manufacturing line design device that transitions processing to the next manufacturing line, and uses the table to allocate the equipment in order until each of the processes on the second manufacturing line becomes capable of manufacturing any of the products specified in the process information, by subtracting the number of pieces of equipment allocated to the first manufacturing line from the number of pieces of equipment in possession and adding the number of pieces of equipment that are not required for manufacturing the products that can now be manufactured on the first manufacturing line to the number of pieces of equipment in possession. 5. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 3,
The allocating unit
After the allocation of the equipment to all of the manufacturing lines and the allocation of the products in the first round have been completed, if there are any unallocated products that must be manufactured,
Allocating the equipment for each process from the equipment not allocated to the one production line;
The manufacturing line design device transitions the process to the next manufacturing line, and repeats the allocation of the equipment and the allocation of the products until the unallocated products are allocated to any one of the manufacturing lines. 6. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 2,
The allocating unit
When allocating the equipment and the products to m (m is a natural number) manufacturing lines,
When the product that can be manufactured on the nth (n=1, 2, ..., m-1) production line is the same as the product that can be manufactured on the (n+1)th production line,
A manufacturing line design device that allocates the number of types of products, which is the number of types of products that can be manufactured on the nth manufacturing line divided by (m-(n-1)), to the nth manufacturing line. 7. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 1,
The allocating unit
When the number of pieces of equipment owned by at least one of the respective equipment is less than the total number of the manufacturing lines, the equipment is allocated and the products are allocated;
The manufacturing line design device does not allocate the equipment and the products when the number of each piece of equipment held is equal to or greater than the total number of the manufacturing lines. 1. A manufacturing line design method for designing a manufacturing line in a case where a plurality of products are manufactured by the manufacturing lines, the method comprising:
An information acquisition step,
Equipment information associating processes with the number of pieces of equipment available for each process;
process information that associates the products with the processes required to manufacture each of the products;
an information acquisition step of acquiring the number of the required manufacturing lines;
an allocation step of allocating the products and the equipment to the manufacturing line;
In the allocating step,
Allocating the equipment for each process to one of the production lines in order until any one of the products can be manufactured , with the number of the production lines and the number of the equipment held as constraints;
Each time the equipment is allocated, the products that can be manufactured on the production line are allocated;
The method includes transitioning the process to the next manufacturing line, and repeating the allocation of the equipment and the allocation of the products until the acquired number of manufacturing lines is reached. A computer program for designing a plurality of production lines for manufacturing a plurality of products, the computer program comprising:
An information acquisition function,
Equipment information associating processes with the number of pieces of equipment available for each process;
process information that associates the products with the processes required to manufacture each of the products;
an information acquisition function for acquiring the number of required manufacturing lines;
a sorting function for sorting the products and the equipment to the manufacturing line;
The sorting function is
Allocating the equipment for each process to one of the production lines in order until any one of the products can be manufactured , with the number of the production lines and the number of the equipment held as constraints;
Each time the equipment is allocated, the products that can be manufactured on the production line are allocated;
A computer program that transitions processing to the next manufacturing line and repeats the allocation of the equipment and the allocation of the products until the acquired number of manufacturing lines is reached.